Both Cruz and Bardem went on separately to Hollywood careers and later became a real-life couple, marrying in 2010.

A decade before "Jamon Jamon", Bigas Luna had tried his own hand in Hollywood, making "Reborn" with Dennis Hopper in the lead, but the movie garnered little notice.

Bigas Luna kept working in Spain up to his death. In recent months he was preparing to film in his native city of Barcelona a movie called "Second Origin", a science fiction tale about Earth after an apocalyptic alien attack.